CHICAGO (Reuters) – Archer Daniels Midland Co plans to use drones to gather data on crop insurance claims as soon as the summer of 2016, its risk services head told Reuters on Wednesday.

ADM’s Crop Risk Services Inc won clearance to use drones earlier this month from the Federal Aviation Administration, which currently bans their commercial use, and will begin testing the technology in the U.S. Midwest this year.

CHICAGO, April 22 (Reuters) – U.S. corn futures touched a
one-month low on Wednesday and soybeans dropped on concern that
a bird flu outbreak in the United States may cut feed demand, as
forecasts for favorable U.S. planting weather in coming weeks
also weighed on prices.

Wheat was slightly lower as early short covering support
faded in light trading.

CHICAGO, April 20 (Reuters) – U.S. soybean futures rose for
a fifth consecutive session on Monday on worries about a
possible trucker strike in Brazil and as an economic stimulus
move by top importer China reinforced expectations of brisk
demand for the oilseed.

Wheat rose to recover some of its heavy losses from last
week, although gains were capped by improving soil moisture
across the winter wheat belt and weak global demand for U.S.
supplies.

CHICAGO, April 8 (Reuters) – Bracing for their leanest
season in eight years, U.S. farmers are skimping on everything
from machinery to fertilizers, betting that they can go
down-market and yet maintain crop production and quality.

The belt-tightening has already squeezed sales of suppliers,
and farming experts warn the gamble can backfire: less robust
crop protection and less resilient seeds combined with some
rough weather could hurt crops this year and beyond.

CHICAGO, March 4 (Reuters) – U.S. soybean futures fell for a
third straight session on Wednesday as a fading truckers’ strike
in Brazil and easing concerns about a farmers’ protest in
Argentina reduced fears of major South American export
disruptions.

Wheat fell under combined pressure from a stronger dollar,
which makes U.S. grain more expensive on world markets, and an
improving outlook for the U.S. winter wheat crop.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. farmers hoping to use drones to locate lost livestock or monitor trouble spots in their fields were disappointed by what they say are overly restrictive commercial drone rules proposed Sunday by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Two of the long-awaited draft rules were singled out for particular criticism: a requirement that pilots remain in visual contact with their drones at all times and a height restriction that limits the crafts to flying no more than 500 feet above ground. These constraints, farmers and drone operators say, would limit a drone’s range – and consequently its usefulness.

CHICAGO, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Craig Uden, who fattens cattle
for beef on his Nebraska feedlot, expects to cut his energy
costs by as much as a quarter this year because of falling oil
prices – a silver lining in an otherwise tough rural economy.

The lowest energy prices since 2009, which have already
benefited transport, retail and industrial companies, are giving
farmers a boost just as the U.S. Department of Agriculture
forecasts their incomes will plunge 32 percent this year.

CHICAGO, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Dozens of angry CME Group members
abruptly left a meeting with CME Group Inc on Friday,
saying executives were dismissive and largely failed to answer
questions about the exchange’s plans to close most open-outcry
futures markets.

It was the first of two members-only sessions in Chicago and
New York to address this week’s announcement by CME Group that
most open-outcry futures markets will be closed by July 2 due to
dwindling trading volumes.

The CME Group Inc, which runs the trading rooms in
Chicago, said on Wednesday it would shut down most of the
open-outcry futures markets in July. Floor trading accounts for
about 1 percent of all futures business at the world’s biggest
futures exchange.